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Originally Posted by yimyammer
Having gone through that, have you set up anything as a safety net in case something similar happens again? Sat Phone? Box of gear with tent, etc hidden somewhere?
Being alone out there, it seems like thinking about some worse case scenarios in advance would be beneficial.
Stay safe and good luck!
Not really. If I get stranded out here I will be fine. I have gotten much more cautious when around the water though. Being a fisherman I was never afraid of the ocean in an egotistical way. Now I have a much more healthy respect for the dangers I face living out here.
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Originally Posted by mjaussieace
Water is your life so I think if you are going to keep sustainable and sustainable in the future you should look into this,, although I know just by yourself perhaps your supply is sufficient.
I'm sure I will get something better set up some day. I need to look into it but I was thinking a distiller so that I could use the ocean water. For right now though I have adequate supply. This summer I will be digging the well deeper and lining it so that the water is cleaner.
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Originally Posted by mjaussieace
Can you fish off there at all and is the fishing any good?
All I have ever caught out here are Mackerel and Harbor Pollock. You can catch a bucketfull in an hour when you catch the tide right. People catch striped bass and bluefish in the river, but this area isn't know for good sport fishing.
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Originally Posted by mjaussieace
Hows the grinding going and what are you currently playing? Any good scores lately?
Grinding has been going great. I decided to take another shot at going pro back in February. I have been working with a coach since then who has been helping me for free and is hugely responsible for my success thus far. I was playing 10nl in February and now I am winning at 100nl. If everything goes well hopefully I will be shot taking 200nl soon. I have a backer so that has helped me move up pretty quickly while still making a little money to live off. I think this month might be the first time this year I make enough to not get stressed about the little things like wanting to buy some soda but realizing it's not a necessity.
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Originally Posted by bahbahmickey
On nice days that your aunt and uncle aren't on the island what % of the day are you wearing your birthday suit? If your answer is less than 60% please explain.
I'm the type of person who likes wearing clothes...call me lame. Though there was this one time...
Ok well let me start by saying there is a family that has 3 adjacent houses on the beach across the water. They face the island and have always hated my family for one reason or another. The oldest has a telescope that he keeps pointed towards the island (you can see it if you drive by his house) and he likes to call the authorities about anything he can. He has called about us having camp fires without a permit and other dumb stuff. He called code enforcement on me when he saw my camp being built because he figured I didn't have a permit. They just suck and like to give my family grief, mostly because of old lobstering rivalries.
So what I was getting to. Now when the weather is nice and I take one of my sponge baths out of a bucket, I make sure to do it on the part of the island that he directly faces. I stand out on the rocks and make sure to give him the full view. Why? I don't know, I thought I was getting him back or something but just now I'm realizing that maybe I was making his day. Oh and btw they have an outdoor lobster resteraunt on said beach. So if any tourists with really good vision look over they will wonder "is that a naked guy bathing on that rock? Nah, can't be..."
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Originally Posted by squid face
if u are ever in vegas I would love to buy you dinner my man...looking foreword to hearing more of your story
Awesome thanks you enjoyed it! I may be in Vegas this coming winter. I need to get away from the Maine winter and Vegas is definitely on my list of possible winter homes.
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Originally Posted by imawhale26
1.) What's the weather like in the winter and do you go outside at all during it?
I didn't stay out here this last winter. Actully I just moved back out here April 1st and it had been almost a year since I left. I knew I needed to make poker work before I could come back. The winter I did stay out here was pretty rough. I have no protection from the wind so there were quite a few nights I was truly fearful my place was going to blow over. An average January day out here includes a gay kind of light peeking through the clouds, 10 degree temperatures not counting the wind chill, and wind blowing anywhere from 20-35mph. There are days when it is much worse than that. You also get occasional 30 degree sunny days. I would try to cross back and forth on those days.
There really isn't anything to do outside out here in the winter so I didn't go outside more than I had to. I did spend alot of time staying on the mainland that winter though (1 week in/ 1 week out). The biggest problem with winter out here is keeping my boat safe. I went through 3 outboard motors my first winter out here because my boat kept sinking. I had 2 pulley lines to keep my skiff tied to, one on each side of the island. When I knew the wind was coming westerly I would move my skiff to the east side, an vice versa. But sometime the weather would change in the night and my skiff would get swamped and sink. I actually had a second near death experience trying to save my skiff when it was sinking that winter.
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Originally Posted by imawhale26
2.) Would the government allow you to build a separate 100 square foot building on that property? Like, I'm envisioning having a 2nd 100 square foot building that could serve as an office some day?
This has crossed my mind many times. I don't think it would be a problem with the government, but I think it would cause problems with the family if I made a little shed village on this side of the island. Some of the family is actually kind of mad at me for building my place out here because "what if we all built a little place out there?". Which I then respond, "that would be really cool."
Quote:
Originally Posted by imawhale26
3.) Do you ever fish from the island to catch your dinner?
I am not a big fan of mackerel so I haven't yet. But I have some ideas for this summer. Smoked mackerel isn't too bad so I have thought about making a small smoker.
I do harvest periwinkles and clams somewhat often though. I actually just set a lobster trap a few days ago, I am going to haul it on the next non-windy day. I will take pictures of the process when I haul it.